This beautiful gem, Lapis Lazuli, is mined in the Hindukush Mountains of Afghanistan, and for many years people from all over the world have considered the Lapis Lazuli to be the stone of truth and friendship. As with the Rose Quartz, it has also been said to bring harmony to relationships.

In the Bible it says that the Hebrews used Lapis Lazuli in the breast plate of Aaron the High Priest, so it is evident that for millennia it has been a stone in which people have placed great importance.

The word LAPIS comes from the Latin for STONE, and LAZULI is from a Persian word LAZHWARD, meaning BLUE; so we then have BLUE STONE - LAPIS LAZULI.

Lapis Lazuli is between 5 and 5.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness.

The Mohs scale of hardness was devised by a German mineralogist called Frederich Mohs (1773-1839) in 1812. He selected the ten most commonly readily available minerals to show the difference in hardness of each. The scale runs from 1-10, 1 being the softest, and 10 being the hardest.

THE MOHS SCALE

Talc = 1
Gypsum = 2
Calcite = 3
Fluorite = 4
Apatite = 5
Orthoclase = 6
Quartz = 7
Topaz = 8
Corundum = 9

and this includes sapphire and ruby, and they are twice as hard as topaz, even though it is only one number more on the Mohs scale of hardness.

Diamond = 10

thereby being the hardest mineral mined. It is four times harder than corundum, even though it is only one number more on the Mohs scale of hardness.